A young couple’s idyllic wedding cruise was thrown into chaos when the ship’s captain became “disoriented” by bad weather and the vessel ran headfirst into a breakwater.
Alex Buckman and Katrina Thompson departed Duluth, Minnesota, with their 82 guests aboard the Vista Star at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening.
Three hours later, the groom’s grandmother was found dangling over the side of a lifeboat after the captain sailed out into the open waters of Lake Superior despite warnings of stormy weather.
“There was no slowing down; he was flat out,” said her daughter Kristine Buckman. “We didn’t just hit it, we went over that breakwater.”
Bride Katrina Thompson and groom Alex Buckman posed for photos as they boarded the boat, not imagining that their guests would later run for the life jackets behind them
Passengers and rescuers struggled to avoid falling into the stormy waters of the lake
The bride and groom happily posed for photos on deck after boarding the ship earlier in the evening as their guests arrived.
“It was a wedding, so we celebrated and had dinner together, and as the evening went on, things started to change,” Buckman’s aunt Beth Elstad said. northernnews.com.
The plan was for the boat to sail out of the harbor, onto the lake, and then return to the harbor three miles north under the Aerial Lift Bridge.
At 5:40 p.m., the Duluth Fire Department issued a warning of dangerous swimming conditions. Elstad said guests assumed the ship would remain in port if conditions were too bad.
But at one point the boat slid out of the harbor and ended up in open water, where the guests began to feel the effects of the one and a half meter high waves.
As guests on deck got some fresh air, they were shocked to see the boat speeding toward the breakwater next to the Superior Point Entry Lighthouse.
“We were headed straight for that breakwater for several minutes,” said guest Ryan Wendlandt
‘Myself and a few other passengers on the upper deck had seen it coming for a while, but we assumed the captain saw it and was planning to turn around.
“We passed that wall too quickly without any change in speed or effort to turn and/or avoid. How on earth the captain didn’t see this coming, I’ll never know.”
Guests looked forward to an idyllic honeymoon cruise on the 92-foot Vista Star
The happy couple looked radiant as they enjoyed well-wishes from their friends
But those friends were thrown across the dance floor by the impact of the head-on collision
Video footage from onboard shows guests being thrown across the dance floor and struggling to stay upright as the ship rocks from the impact.
“There was a sharp turn,” Elstad said. “One of the speakers in the corner fell over with some glass on the table and almost hit one of the guests.
“That was the first clue and we were all like, ‘What’s going on? Are we going in circles?’
Guests reported that staff did little to help and screaming passengers were left to fend for themselves while they tried to understand what was happening.
“The guests and my family members handed out life jackets,” Elstad said. “My family and guests treated and assessed their injuries.
We thought: how do you choose who leaves here?
“Really, that’s how it felt and that’s a situation that no one should have to be in. This was completely avoidable.”
The crew declared an emergency and a boat from the St. Louis County Rescue Squad rushed to the scene.
Passengers told KBJR that the crew did not know how to open the hatch to see if the boat was sinking, and that a colleague of the groom from Fraser Shipyards checked the ballast.
The boat’s meandering path and impact with the breakwater were captured by a guest
The groom’s aunt, Beth Elstad, said the passengers were left to fend for themselves
Stunning footage shows waves crashing into the hull of the beached ship and then bouncing it away, as Buckman’s grandmother is precariously hoisted aboard before being taken to hospital with head and hip injuries.
Owner Justin Steinbach said the captain had ventured out onto the open lake but decided to turn back due to the rough conditions.
But when he turned the boat, “he probably became disoriented as to the opening to get into the water.”
‘He ran too close to the rock face and we ended up on it.’
He said the captain was shaken by the impact and that rescue team members guided the ship back to port under their own power after checking that the ship was not taking on water. Eventually, the traumatized passengers were allowed to disembark.
“Once the two captains came on board and took control, everything went much smoother and less chaotic,” said Kristine Buckman.
“But probably half the passenger list was vomiting, either through the back or the front.”
“That boat needs a good wash.”
Determined not to let the chaotic scenes distract from the happy couple’s big day, guests posted encouraging messages on their social media pages in the days that followed.
“All those jokes we made about Gilligan’s Island may have tempted fate,” wrote Jenny Dillon.
“Katrina Thompson, this is going to be a day no one will ever forget!! You started this engagement with a bang! Literally.”
“We hit the breakwater and the Coast Guard had to come and rescue us. Last night was definitely an unforgettable night,” Pez Davila added.
The captain tested negative for drugs and alcohol, and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office indicated they are not currently considering criminal charges.
Steinbach defended the crew of the boat he has owned for 13 years.
“Our goal has always been to create great experiences,” he said Vos21.
‘This was an unfortunate experience. It happens. You know, in the marine world.
The festivities came to an abrupt end as the battered guests waited for rescue
Boat owner Justin Steinbach said his captain “must have been disoriented at the opening”
“We think it’s terrible that this happened. But again, the way the crew responded, to make sure the boat was safe, the crew was safe and, more importantly, the passengers were saved.”
His explanation certainly did nothing to calm the groom’s aunt.
“When I heard the boat owner say that safety comes first and that they have procedures and protocols,” she snapped.
“None were executed.”